Bugiardo
by Lhaewiel
Summary: "First day of school, first trouble. It couldn't be better than this, right? You're quietly walking through the corridors of that old building called school and someone, that you obviously don't know, falls on you." Y!Squalo x Y!Dino
1. Chapter 1

**BUGIARDO**

**Chapter 1**

_[- What a relief, you regained consciousness._

_- Bu... Buck... Ing... __Bronco?_

_- Squalo._

_- Why?_

_- It would have been a pity if you died on us.]_

_Liar. I don't believe a single word of what you're saying, even if you swear me._

First day of school, first trouble. It couldn't be better than this, right? You're quietly walking through the corridors of that old building called school and someone, that you obviously don't know, falls on you. So sarcastically a boy with white hair and light blue eyes was thinking. Suddenly the other one, a thin boy with blond hair and hazel eyes, stood up apologizing in an even exaggerated way. The first boy answered annoyed:

- It's ok, but look up where you go!

Then he walked way, leaving the blond boy where he was.

That morning passed away rapidly. There were two hours of Phisical Education – useless for him, Squalo, who practiced every day to become a swordsman – followed by an hour of Italian, one of maths and two of History and Philosophy. First day of school, first boring morning. He heard a noise, like a chair falling to the floor. He opened his eyes wide. On the floor, stuck under the chair, there was the blond boy in which he had bumped into that morning. He sighed. That boy was hopeless.

Dino stood up, his body aching, getting out of his position difficultly. Not all people fell down with a leg and an arm stuck under a chair. There had to be a genius to do that, but he was the king of fallings in absurd ways. He sighed and, taking his bag, got out of the classroom, followed by the mocking of his classmates.

- They're right, I'm hopeless...

- And it seems that you're also a self-injurer.

Dino jumped. That voice had scared him. He gazed at the one who talked and was shocked to see that it was the boy he accidentally fell on that same morning, while falling for the umpteenth time.

- Voooi, if you keep looking at your feet, you'll fall again.

The white haired boy said in an annoyed tone. He wasn't willing to nurse someone he didn't even know. The blond boy sighed resigned and said:

- Eh... It wouldn't be the first time I'd fall...

Squalo didn't find that guy unpleasant. Everyone falls on his feet, right? He would have been an idiot if he began threatening someone just because the day had started in a bad way and it got worse. He sighed to calm down. After a pause he said:

- Squalo.

- N?

- My name is Squalo. You?

- D-Dino, my name is Dino.

- Look before your eyes. And be careful, otherwise you won't come here again alive.

Without waiting the other's answer, Squalo got on his bike – that old piece of trash that was absurdly noisy, fetched from an unknown relative – and went home. Dino kept looking at the direction where the white haired boy had vanished till Romario, his father's right hand man, came to pick him up.

- Young Sir, am I indiscrete to ask you how was at school?

- Ah... It was nearly all as usual, Romario.

- Nearly?

- Well... I think I've become friend with another boy.

- This is good.

- I think... I think that maybe it will be better than in the other schools.

After saying so, Dino got on the car and looked out of the window.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chap 2**

Second day. After the beginning joy of the previous day, the students had again their usual behaviour, that is to say they had again bored faces, they would again chat at low voice, they would again write small papers with unutterable gossips and cetera. Squalo didn't have voice in all these things; he'd rather beat someone up with his sword, so he stayed leaned on the school desk near the wall, bored to death. He looked like a cat.

Squalo waited patiently for the morning break, taking unwillingly some notes. The school bell rang, after nearly three hours. Got out of the classroom, he went by the stairs that led to the inner courtyard that was usually quiet, but that day he heard some mocking voices. He had a bad feeling, but decided to ignore it. Very bad thing to do. He sighed, annoyed, before what he saw.

Dino felt like he was in trap. He could clearly see himself on the spit in plastic pose with an apple in his hand. The bullies of the last year had decided that DINO had to be the one that had to be bullied.

"And I should be the next Cavallone boss? Don't make me laugh!"

The blond thought panicking. He tried to resolve things in a pacific way.

- Come on, guys... Let's be friends, and let's resolve this thing in a pacific way...

He smiled, complacent. The bullies wouldn't have let him go so easily, so he had to pay attention to what he would say. It happened that – as usual – Dino fell down the stairs, and accidentally he poured the coffee – that disgusting thing of the distributor that someone dared to call coffee – he poured the coffee right on the shoes of one of those bullies. Really it was nothing, because nearly all the coffee went on Dino's hair and clothes.

- No, we won't resolve it in a pacific way! Do ya know how much my shoes cost?

- Voooi, as if you actually paid for them!

- Who's talking?

- And that nothing will go away with a rag.

Dino gazed at the white haired boy who had come to defend him – Squalo, he seemed to remember – half hoping half speechless.

- And who are you, midget?

- Squalo Superbi. Call me names again and you won't even have eyes to cry.

- Ah? You braggart, you'll pay for it!

- You bet?

Dino closed his eyes. When he reopened them, saying that the bullies were running away like hell it was a euphemism. And Squalo ha the same expression as one who had just won the National Lottery and the creepy smile of a killing puppet.

When peace was finally restored, Squalo peered at the blond.

- Geez... You again?

- Eh....

An embarrassed Dino scratched his head. Squalo wasn't usually patient: throwing him a punch on his head, to which the blond answered with a feeble "ouch", the white haired boy screamed:

- Vooi, is it your habit to be always in troubles?

- But... But...

- I'm not a nurse!

- ... Thank you, anyway...

- Don't misunderstand me. I was just looking for a reason to fight someone, since my hands were too much inactive.

- ...

- Tch. And hurry up; otherwise the whole classroom will think you're lost.

Once more Dino was perplexed. He didn't know how to behave. He stood up, getting of the dust from his clothes. When he looked up, Squalo had vanished.


	3. Chapter 3

Chap 3

The third day was Saturday. That meant five hours of school instead of six and less boredom. As usual Squalo perched on the school desk, like a crow on a branch. The subjects that would have been taught that morning, either for sadism, or for personal amusement of those who made the schedule, were two hours of Greek, one of Italian literature, one of philosophy and last but not least one of phisics. A morning whose perspective was not even a bit exciting. There was nothing better to do, so Squalo leaned on the desk relaxing, no one bothered to see what he was doing though. He took some notes, while planning his schedule for the afternoon. He would go practicing with his sword.

When the bell rang, he stood up, but he bumped into someone on the way. That someone with blond hair and hazel eyes, who seemed to be pursued by his unluckiness. Dino smiled brightly, saying hello to the other boy.

- Hello!

- ... Hi?

- Uhm... You're Squalo, right?

The white haired boy nodded, then asked, a bit annoyed:

- ... Dino... What do you want?

The other boy hesitated.

- Vooi, hurry up and spit it out!

- Well... I wanted to thank you for yesterday, you saved me from a very bad situation and...

- Ok, cut it off. It's fine, but don't misunderstand me, I only wanted to beat someone up.

- Yes, right...

The white haired boy moved to go away, but Dino groped him and – bad luck to the extreme – the blond slipped dragging along also a speechless Squalo, who gave a punch – the second one – on Dino's head, while massaging himself.

- VOOOI! Ok, you're pursued by the God f Fallings, but don't drag along other people!

- ... Sorry...

Looking at Dino made the white haired boy losing his anger.

- Bah, it's ok. What do you want again?

- I wanted... Well, I wanted to know where would you go...

- It's not your business.

- I know, but...

- Geez...

Squalo breathed, resigned.

- I go eating then I go practising.

- Ah, what kind of sport do you practise?

For Squalo, Dino talked too much. Anyway, breathing deeply for the umpteenth time, he answered:

- Not sport. I practise with my sword.

- Wow, can I go and watch you?

- Squalo gazed at the blond sceptically, then said:

- Do as you like.

And so, at four pm, Squalo, together with Dino, was at a sports field.

- Wow, can I take this sword?

- No, you can't.

- But... I can't use it!

- Vooooi, it's OF COURSE because you can't use a sword, that you can't take it!

- But...

- DON'T JOKE! You're already a self-injurer, with a sword into your hands you can only hurt yourself more!

- ...

- Therefore you stay still while watching me.

- ... Yes.

Squalo breathed. He began with basic exercises. Parry, thrust, cutting blow. All these were made under the supervision of Dino. After some time he decided to be a bit exhibitionist, so he showed something more complicated. In the middle of a thrust, he heard the noise of a car stopping.

- Young Sir!

Squalo breathed, annoyed. Then:

- What's now?

The blond boy had the serene and relaxed expression as someone condemned to death.

- Ah... Romario!

- Young Sir! Your father is worried about you!

- But...

- And what he's...

Dino interrupted the man saying:

- No, he's done nothing, he was just showing me some sword exercises...

After some skirmish like "I was really worried about you, Young Sir", and "it was nothing", Dino waved at Squalo and went off, dragged by Romario.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Two weeks had passed since Squalo saw Dino last time. Two weeks, in which the white haired boy had done nothing but perch on his school desk, gazing at the so variable weather and practicing with his sword. So he was a bit wondered to see the blond boy, covered with bandages, looking like he was beaten up pretty badly.

- Vooi, the hell did you do?

- Eeh...

- "Eeh" is not an answer!

Dino smiled, while he blushed slightly, embarrassed. It was the sad smile that's on who is constricted to do something he doesn't like. Squalo – wisely – decided to cut off this conversation, changing subject.

During the morning break, as usual, Squalo was sitting on the stairs that went in the inner courtyard. Then he heard some footsteps behind him.

- Squalo...

- ... Dino?

The blond boy hesitated. Squalo moved and made room for Dino. Some minutes of silence passed. Then:

- Well... The reason... A-hem... I'm covered with bandages because my father called a home tutor...

Squalo said nothing, but Dino kept talking.

- My family... The Cavallone, allied with the Vongola, want me to become the next Cavallone boss, but... But it's useless, I don't want to deal with the Mafia, I'm not able, I don't... It's far too much for me... This home tutor arrives, tells me his name is Reborn and that he will make a good boss out of me, but...

- And why should you become the next Cavallone boss?

- I... I don't know, my family is full of debts, doesn't have power into the allegiance, maybe the hope that I'll make the family raise again, but even if I would want to become boss, I don't know what to do...

After saying that, Dino didn't manage to go on anymore. He put his hands on his head, ruffling his hair nervously. At that point Squalo, who had stayed still, gave him a slap on the hands, slap that made Dino stop torturing his hair, then he threw to the blond boy a punch on the head – the third one.

- Ouch!

- It's useless crying on spilled milk!

- ...

- Then why did you tell such things to ME?

- I don't know... You seemed the only one who would... Listen to me...

- ...

The bell rang, settling the end of the morning break. Squalo stood up, saying:

- I'll go back to the classroom. Hurry, or else the fugly teacher of philosophy will question you.

Dino stood up, following the white haired boy.

- Ah, this will NEVER get into my head!

- It's because you don't use your brain.

- But REBORN!

Dino got his umpteenth kick by the tutor.

- Ouch!

- Demonstrate that you're not clumsy once in a while!

- REBORN! If you keep beating me up, I won't learn nothing for sure! A tutor should behave differently, right? You...

A speechless Dino verified that Reborn was sleeping – with his eyes open – without even make an effort to listen to the blond boy. Dino had the intention of ruffling his hair again, but the memory of a slap on his hands stopped him.

"It's useless crying on spilled milk!"

Squalo, the boy whom he had put up a strange friendship, said those exact words. Right, strange friendship, because it always seemed that to Squalo nothing was worth to be considered, but in the end he would always give a hand to the blond... Well, just a bit of a hand, it was better not to exaggerate. Dino breathed, putting again his nose between the schoolbooks. Squalo was right, it was useless crying on spilled milk.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Squalo nearly started at Dino, who so suddenly was before him. The blond boy was sitting on a chair with a very bright smile.

- Hello!

- ...

Dino seemed to loose all the confidence he had when he said that "hello" to Squalo. The white haired boy leaned on his school desk, with a very annoyed expression, and bawled:

- The hell you want?

Dino stood up and stepped back, smiling nervously. Then he began to ruffle his hair – a thing he did when he was nervous, embarrassed – and said in one breath:

- Well. I wanted to ask you if today you could come over my house to study. Ehrm, tomorrow the teacher will do a mathematics oral examination, so since we are the only ones left without marks...

He paused to take breath. There Squalo managed to say something. He slapped on the hands the blond boy, then:

- If you keep ruffling your hair, you'll become bald. Your hair hasn't got any faults.

Squalo breathed, resigned.

- Where?

- N?

Squalo's eyes began throwing invisible daggers to the blond.

- Your house, where is it?

- A... Ah, so you will come? W... Well, I'm glad, you know, my tutor Reborn says that it's a good thing that mmmmmpffghh...

Dino found that Squalo's hand had shut his mouth. Then, the latter said losing the last drop of patience he had:

- Vooi, you talk too much! Cut it off!

Dino nodded, freeing himself from Squalo's hand. Then they went on their way home, after Dino told Squalo to wait after school.

- Since when one like you is that clumsy Cavallone's friend?

Squalo stayed in silence, the annoyed expression still hadn't abandoned him.

- One of your kinds is wasted for him.

The white haired boy raised his left brow.

- What would the alternative be?

The other boy, a second year student, followed by his group, smirked. Squalo didn't like that smirk, he had a horrible superimposition with Dino's smile that made him shake his head.

- How about join our group?

- ... You would be the alternative?

Of course it was a rhetoric question. Squalo quietly stood up, then gazed at the group before him. Squalo put his hands on the school desk and with a quick movement he overturned the said desk on those before him, making some of them falling on the ground. Then he said serious:

- I don't need you to tell me who to be friend with, I choose on my own will to be friend with someone. Don't come breaking my balls, because next time you come babbling before me, I'll beat you up so badly that you won't even have the strength to stand up.

Then the white haired boy went off, picking up his things.

Dino joined him outside the school. Romario was waiting for them by the car.

- Oi... We go to your house by car?

- Well, it's obvious.

Dino answered with a bright smile.

- But... My bike...

He interrupted his speech seeing that the said bike was already in the car luggage van.

- Please don't be upset, we have already thought about it.

Squalo got a bit angry, but decided to see the positive side of the thing. For once it wasn't a bad thing that someone came to pick him up.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Squalo crossed the entrance of Cavallone mansion. The fact that Dino stumbled over the stairs and fell didn't surprise Squalo too much. He had begun to get used to the blond's fallings. He sighed resigned to his fate.

- You're falling on purpose or you aren't really dedicated at all?

Squalo said acid. Dino laughed embarrassed and answered:

- Eh... I don't even know it myself sometimes...

When they entered the living room, they sat at the table, beginning to open their books, Squalo half-heartedly, Dino with a bright smile. In that moment Reborn came in.

- Ciaossu.

Squalo started at him. He looked at Reborn surprised, raising a brow. Reborn said smiling:

- You must be Squalo.

- ….. And who the heck are you?

Squalo was stunned. Before him, there was a child looking person, and he seemed to know Squalo. - The white haired boy turned his head slowly towards Dino, who suddenly said, panicking:

D… Don't be fooled by his appearance, he's Reborn, my home tutor. I told him about you…

The white haired boy's eyes began throwing invisible daggers, then he observed Dino in a sceptical way. Then his gaze went on Reborn, who said:

- It's time for studying. Dino, get useful.

- A… Ah… Reborn!

Dino received from Reborn a kick, that made him go straight on the floor. When the blond tried to stand up, a dictionary – a Greek dictionary, to be precise – fell on his head. Squalo, with a notebook in one hand and a pen on his ear observe the scene speechless.

When the two boys finally managed to begin studying, Squalo, still speechless, said:

- … Now I understand the reason why you're always covered in bandages…

- Eh…

- He's not what he seems, Reborn, right?

- No.

Squalo felt nearly a feeling of sympathy towards the blond boy before him. The white haired boy gazed at him for a bit, then he stretched a hand towards Dino and gave him two gentle slaps on the head. Then he said:

- If you're tolerating that fake kid, I esteem you.

Dino gazed at him with his eyes wide open. He opened his mouth to say something, but he suddenly closed it. After a pause he said:

- It's better that we study a bit, right?

Squalo nodded.

And thence the next day came. The Mathematics teacher would be questioning all the students in the classroom without exceptions. The first ones of her list were two. Her voice, not one of the most idyllic ones, declared:

- Cavallone. Superbi.

The two got up. The first one with the serene expression of someone condemned to death and arms loosened, the second one with an annoyed expression and his hands in the pockets of his trousers. The teacher began:

- Cavallone, I'll start with you. Did you study?

Classic tactic question.

- Eh… I tried to…

The teacher looked at him with a deadly expression. In that precise moment… Hence the Divine Providence. Hence the salvation.

- Excuse me, Madam… You're called at the telephone.

The school caretaker had come in, and with those magical words he had postponed Dino's condemn to death, and consequently Squalo's one.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

When Squalo crossed the classroom entrance, he didn't like what he saw. Dino, laying on his school desk, was trying hard not to cry out from the pain, rubbing his back in the way he could. At the opposite part of the classroom there were those second year guys Squalo had menaced, and they were quietly sitting on the desks, not so far from the teacher's place. Squalo quietly went near the blond boy and asked:

- What happened?

Dino Tried to get up.

- Don't worry, Superbi, we've just congratulated him giving him some friendly slaps!

The white haired boy's eyes automatically whittled down. After a short pause he said sharply:

- … Friendly slaps that nearly destroyed him!

Dino tried to say something:

- Come on, Squalo, let it die…

But Squalo had already switched on the yellow light of the "do not disturb". He slowly went near those guys.

- You congratulated him for what?

- Ah, the KLUTZ managed to actually MAKE FRIENDS, isn't this something we should CELEBRATE?

The one who had said those words had a mocking smirk on his face, and that made Squalo pass from the yellow light of the "do not disturb" to the red light of the "now I kill you". With a deep voice he said:

- You're a dickhead. And also a first class dickhead.

Those little magic words made everyone stare at Squalo. The answer came out from the silence.

- Me? Now I'll beat you so much you'll know PERFECTLY that here I dictate rules!

Squalo had reached his limit and lost his patience. He threw down on the floor the other guy, making him fall from the desk he was sitting on. Then, without even letting him take breath, he kicked him right in the stomach. Then he turned towards the other guys, who had put themselves in combat asset, and said:

- Which one of you RABBITS is the next one?

A still in pain Dino went to stop Squalo before the thing would degenerate. He grabbed the white haired boy by the shoulders and begged crying:

- Squalo! Stop, please, stop it, it's not worth the play! It's ok like this, if you pick a fight you'll be expelled, now stop it! Believe me, it's not worth the play!

After saying this, Dino bowed his head, then added, losing the grip on Squalo's shoulder:

- You don't have to worry about this… I'm used to it… Those things are now indifferent for me…

Squalo nodded, then said to the guys he wanted to beat up since some minutes before:

- Take away this scum, and think that you're lucky.

The second year guys went out without even saying a word. At that point Squalo tourned his head towards Dino and said:

- It's NOT ok like this, they hurt you, your heart and your feelings. They crash under their feet your feelings.

- I… I know, but… I don't want to have troubles, so I tolerate…

- This IS NOT A QUESTION OF TOLERANCE! HERE IS A QUESTION OFMmmmmppppffffgggghhh…

Yes, Dino had put a hand on Squalo's mouth to shut him up. The latter then decided to be quiet and dragged Dino to the school bathroom.

- Ok, now take off the sweater and the shirt.

Seeing the eloquent look on Dino's face, he added:

- I want to see the livid and put some water on it to lessen the pain, otherwise you'll be splurting blood till the end of the classes. What were you thinking, I don't have such tastes…

Clearly relieved, the blond took off sweater and shirt.

- Shit.

- Squalo…

- It's not the time to be delicate with words. You've got TEN fingers and TWO palms on your back!

- Eeh…

- Since I'm not the personified gentleness, stay still.

A spontaneous question came out from Dino's mouth:

- Why… Are you helping me?

Squalo breathed annoyed.

- I'm not that kind of trash that can live quietly while seeing disgusting scenes like that one of before. Don't misunderstand, anyway.

- … Right.

Dino smiled weakly. After some minutes, Squalo said:

- Now put on again sweater and shirt, I'll go to the classroom. Try not to trip on your feet, because it will be the time that I will beat you.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Obviously, that bruise obliged Dino to stay at home for a certain amount of time. Two of the longest days Squalo ever spent. He passed those days perched on his desk, bored and spunky. He mechanically kept repeating his sword exercises without any precise order. After two days without seeing the blond boy at school, he decided to go checking about his health.

Squalo arrived in front of his classmate's house and rang. The man who opened the door was the one he always saw waiting for Dino after school -Romario, if he remembered well- who gave him a hesitant look.

- You... You are Superbi Squalo, aren't you?

- What do you want?

Squalo wavered. How could he answer? He formulated a quick answer in his mind ad said:

- Uhm... I just wanted to know how was Dino...

Romario stared at the boy, raising an eyebrow.

- Do you want to come in and go checking on your own?

- ... May I?

The man stepped aside, letting him enter, and said:

- Come in. It's good for Dino to meet a friend.

As soon as Squalo entered the house, Dino went to greet him, limping slightly.

- Squalo, it's good to see you! Why are you here?

Squalo sighed, rubbing his temples. Romario made them sit down into the living room and went off.

-... I wanted to know how were you doing.

Dino smiled.

- It's kind of you. I'm getting better, the bruise almost vanished.

- ...

The blond hesitated. Then, in a whisper, he added:

- Well... Thanks... Thanks, because you... you always defend me. Thanks for being... My friend.

The moment he said so, he started fiddling with his hair.

- Squalo... Why are you doing so? No one binds you to come defending me, but...

The white-haired boy slapped Dino's hands, who immediately stopped touching his hair.

- I already told you, you'll become bald if you continue torturing your hair.

- ...

- And also, there's no good reason to answer your question. I help you, because I feel like it. Now, stop babbling nonsense.

The blond nodded. Both of them fell silent. Dino nervously rubbed his hands on his arms, while Squalo observed something from the French window. The latter was the one to break the silence.

- Where is the fake brat?

- Reborn... Today he's not here. He will be out for the entire week. He said he had something to do...

- Ah...

Silence fell again between them. Dino was smiling, but it was a sad smile. Squalo was beginning to lose his patience.

- Lately, you show that kind of smile too much. If you want to cry, do it!

He burst out. Dino opened his mouth to say something, but closed it immediately. Squalo was a too good observer.

The latter thought had been too abrupt. Dino seemed already gloomy enough, he didn't need also Squalo's bad temper. So the white-haired boy, without knowing if what he was about to say was right or not, instinctively added:

- Voooi, my shoulder is comfortable, even if it doesn't seem so. If you don't unburden yourself, the pressure will kill you.

Dino didn't know when he leaned on Squalo, he didn't know when those tears started to fall, but he knew that was the better thing to do. Squalo stayed still, Dino against his shoulder. The white-haired boy sighed again and kept looking outside the window. The blond didn't say a word, he continued leaning against the other boy, in silence.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Surely it wasn't a good time for Dino. He was deep in trouble, and this was all Reborn's fault., who had decided to train the blond boy on the road. Dino, with his whip into his hands and the relaxed expression of one who's seeing death approaching very quickly, was mentally making his will and praying that the bear Reborn set on him would be merciful and let him have his bones still fine.

- REBORN! BUT WHY?

- You're a failure.

- BUT!

Reborn smiled.

- That bear has already eaten its meal.

- AND WHAT'S THAT FOR?

The tutor had already fallen asleep with eyes open. A terrorised Dino looked at the animal before him and began to randomly move his whip, while screaming in terror and hurting himself. The bear, wisely, following that instinct that is proper of the animals, let the thing die and left. At that point Dino applied what Dante wrote in the Divina Commedia: "and I fell as a dead body falls".

When Dino reopened his eyes, he found himself on a street full of dust. His hair was like a broomstick. Standing up with some difficulties, he brushed off the dust as better as he could, then began walking home.

At a certain point he felt his head hit something, or better, someone, who cursed and said:

- Shit, Dino, your head is incredibly hard…

- Wha…

The blond boy observed his "victim" speechless. The latter gazed badly at Dino and barked:

- And with this it's two times!

- S… Sorry!

The white haired boy had the temptation to beat the blond to a pulp, but seeing the conditions of the latter he just stood up brushing his front. Looking better at Dino he said:

- Did you go playing in the mud?

- … I could say the same thing of you.

Effectively Squalo was not in better conditions than Dino, snce he had some sword fights for hours. He replied sarcastically:

- You're wrong. They told me mud-bath treatment was perfect for my skin, so I decided to go for a try.

Dino looked at him, pausing for a bit before laughing quietly.

- Voooi, now, what's up?

- N… Nothing…

Squalo breathed annoyed, then said:

- … C'mon, come with me.

- Where are we going?

- We're going at least to wash our faces, if we come back home in this condition they'll lynch us.

So, once stopped at a little fountain, they washed hands and heads under the water, wiping off a bit of the dirt they had accumulated. After this, Squalo said that he would go home and told Dino to do the same, before the blond would be considered lost.

Once arrived at home, Dino threw his dirty clothes into the washing machine and went to do do a shower. He leaned tiredly on the wall, and began thinking. Dino had casually met Squalo, and for the umpteenth time the white haired boy had helped him, even if it was clear how annoyed was Squalo. By the way Dino had noticed a wound on the other boy's arm, that was badly hidden and worse bandaged. Dino said to himself that the day after he would have brought some bandages. So he could have returned a bit of the great help Squalo had given him till that moment willingly or not. He could have at least avoided that the wound would be infected. A kick on the head arrived from Reborn.

- You're thinking too much, you must make some action, don't do nothing at all.

- Re… Reborn…

- Tsk.

After saying that, the tutor vanished. Dino finished his shower, went into his bed and fell asleep, leaving all thoughts for the day after.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The next morning, a school, Dino was before Squalo's eyes so suddenly that the latter nearly startled.

- Dino, you nearly scared me!

- Squalo… Let me see your arm.

The white haired boy gazed suspiciously at the blond boy. Then he knitted his brows and, avoiding his gossipy classmates, went off, dragging along Dino towards the usual stairs that lead to the inner courtyard. Dino avoided a nearly deathly falling to the ground thanks to Squalo, then arrived at the said spot. So Dino began to look after the white haired boy's wound.

- Squalo…

- …

- Squalo, this isn't good! This wound is badly bandaged, it will reopen at the least movement! And it is not even well disinfected! My goodness, Squalo, you're a swordsman, you should be careful…

- Dino…

- And yesterday not only you were dirty, but also your sword wasn't in better conditions, I don't dare imagine how many bacteria have already infected this wound!

Squalo breathed annoyed, but when he tried to say something, Dino, who was prodigally tending his wound, assaulted him again.

- Don't say nothing, you just don't care about yourself, you don't heal your wounds automatically…

Squalo felt Dino's words becoming far. He had a sensation as his blood pulsed all into his brain, a not so pleasant feeling, then his eyes went to fix Dino's ones – maybe the pain of his wound made him feeling like this? He imposed himself to stop, but the voice of his conscious seemed to have eaten helium. Rapidly he erased the distance between his face and the blonde's one, then he cast an innocent kiss on Dino's lips. A few seconds later Squalo interrupted the contact, suddenly realizing what he had done. He had kissed a boy, his first kiss given to a boy, who was Dino, the last person he had expected to kiss. Abruptly he turned away, because his face had become of all the shades of purple. Dino, instead stayed still, shocked, his face as red as a tomato, trying to comprehend and understand what had just happened. An unnatural silence fell between the two boys. The first to speak was Dino:

- Squalo…

Squalo turned his face towards Dino menacing him.

- Don't. Talk. About. This. To. Anyone. Or. I'll. Beat. You.

The blond boy nodded speechless. The white haired boy added:

- Forget it. I don't know what I've done. Forget it.

Then he thanked for the now well bandaged wound then went off. Dino remained there alone, incapable of thinking, while warm tears fell down along his cheeks. Tears, because that kiss had seemed so tender just like Squalo's last words before leaving had seemed cruel. Tears, because he didn't know what to do anymore. That morning Squalo and Dino were distant, as if a barrier had separated them. After school, Dino went home, while Squalo went practicing with his sword.

While practicing, Squalo called himself more than once stupid. He was asking himself what had gotten into him, why, among all people who were there, he had kissed Dino. Waving his sword nearly without realizing it, he asked to himself who was Dino to have made him kiss the blond. Squalo stopped. He needed some answers, but no one he knew seemed to know how to answer.

Dino was confused. That kiss had made him upset, that kiss had made him reconsider himself. The first kiss he had received was from the least expected person of the world, Squalo. Squalo which he had considered as a friend till that moment. Now, how should he consider that white haired boy? Could he ignore that gesture and go on as nothing happened? And if he had done such a thing, would he have hurt somehow Squalo's feelings? What did Squalo feel for him? What did he feel for Squalo?


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Two weeks. Squalo and Dino hadn't been speaking to each other since two weeks, except when it was unavoidable. The schoolmates by then were already used to see them two always together, so at the beginning they were quite surprised to notice the two friends were parted. And so they decided to throw oil on the fire spreading evil rumours, just for the pleasure of being total assholes.

Nevertheless, neither Dino nor Squalo were listening to them, they were just too busy calming down the storm that was upsetting them.

That day Reborn, seeing that Dino wasn't cohoperating, but he was just wandering around without a real reason, decided to scold his pupil. So Dino found himself right face to the ground. In a normal state he would have complained, but he just said nothing, he didn't even try to stand up. Reborn sighed in an annoyed way.

- You're just useless, Dino.

Silence was the only reply he got.

- What are you doing there? Move, react!

- … And what should I do?

- This is your business, just don't stand there like a sloth!

The blond boy just mumbled something, but stopped right when he saw Reborn's gun pointed at him. Reborn's tone of voice was menacing.

- Move, stand up and go out!

- To… To do what?

- You know.

- But…

Dino, who was just standing on his knees in that moment, found himself grounded again with the umpteenth kick from his tutor. When he finally managed to get up from the floor, he tried to say something, but Reborn had already vanished. He began torturing his hair, but stopped all of a sudden when he remembered Squalo's friendly pats. That again. He decided that for the moment he could've passed over that kiss, while thinking about what he really felt about the white haired boy. Now it was more important to get back together a friendship.

Squalo was practicing at the usual place. Swinging the sword was a thing that really relaxed him. He thrusted the blade, but he stopped the hit at half. He was going to hit the wrong person.

- DINO?

The blond boy breathed in relief. He had scrapes, so he probably had run all the way and had fallen to the ground many times. Like a gun, his voice striked Squalo's ears.

- Squalo!

Then Dino just fell down. With a feeble voice he murmured:

- I've fallen down, Squalo… Why don't you help me? What's happening to you?

The white haired boy instinctively leaned towards him, but did nothing at all.

- Dino…

- It's allright, I'll forget about the kiss and all, but you can't ask me to forget also our friendship. You're the very first friend I have, the very first who would support me… I can understand you're confused, I'm confused too, but I don't want to lose our friendship for such a thing. Squalo… I don't want to lose you…

Dino's voice had been increasing, while saying those things. Squalo stayed silent for some time, thinking about what the blond boy had told him. He then rubbed his head, took up his sword, which had fallen to the ground, then helped Dino stand up by holding him by an arm. Then sighed and barked:

- Vooi, you talk too much, I can't stand it.

Dino was utterly surprised, but understood he had gotten the message, so he murmured:

- So… Are we… Friends again?

- Something like that.

Squalo mumbled. The blond boy smiled happily. Squalo gazed at all the scrapes Dino had managed to get, then hissed angrily:

- Vooi, you should be careful too! You just can't come here complaining about my injuries when YOU, the king of self-inflicted pain, always need a nurse to take care of you!

Dino laughed lightly, then he turned to Squalo with a bright smile. Squalo couldn't explain the reason why, but he lost two or three heart beats. The latter kept holding Dino until they got to a bench, in the centre of the town.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

So everything had come back to normal, or so it was how both Dino and Squalo appeared to be. The truth, unfortunately, was that everything had changed: they distanced themselves if they were too close, as if an invisible barrier was suddenly put between them. They could not deal with that thin line that separated them.

They had both decided – more or less wisely – to forget about that kiss and what had happened then, but something just not seemed right.

Squalo always kept his feelings closed up, but Dino just couldn't cope with the situation and he looked like a tormented soul. Even if the blond boy had decided to leave things as they were pro bono pacis, the warmth of that kiss, its tenderness didn't go away, like those cruel words Squalo had told him. The words 'forget it' were like a heavy rock on Dino's heart.

In that way, nothing went as good as it seemed.

That morning, during the last hour of lesson, while the whole classroom was nearly empty, Dino decided it was time to talk with Squalo about that matter, hoping that this latter was in a good mood.

"Squalo..."

"Hm?"

"I need to talk to you..."

"Tell me."

"In a more discrete place..."

The white haired boy just sighed, then stood up and told Dino to follow him. They went by the school rooftop, a place no one went except when it was time to clean it up. When they finally stopped, Squalo leaned on the wall and waited for Dino to speak up. The latter had lost nearly all the confidence he had had until that moment, so he remained silent for a moment. Then he said in a doubtful tone:

"Squalo... Look... I wanted to know if you managed to forget...

"Forget what?"

His tone was harsh.

"The kiss. And everything else."

Squalo gazed angrily at Dino, but he didn't answer. The other kept talking.

"I... I couldn't do it... I can't... For how much I try... While I study, while I 'train' with Reborn, I can't help but thinking about this. You'll probably say I'm stupid, but I don't eat anymore, I don't sleep at night anymore, and even if I always smile, my heart just cries... It's not the kiss, the words you told me hurt more than anything else... They were cruel words, words I can't cope with... How... How do you... Cope with them?

The bell rang, marking the end of the lessons for that morning. Squalo walked past Dino and walked back to go out of the school. While doing this he said in an acid tone:

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Dino stayed still, alone, by the rooftop of the school, trying to get a hold of himself and picking up all the pieces of his broken heart. While he did so, he decided that Squalo had lied to him, the truth was totally different.

He ran towards the white haired boy, who had gone out of the school. He followed him until they both reached Squalo's house. Right before this latter would close the door in front of Dino, he said:

"What do you want?"

The answer came out like a gun shot. Dino was nearly crying, but he stubbornly held back his tears.

"The truth!"

Squalo didn't answer; instead, he went inside his house and closed the door before Dino without thinking twice. Dino sighed, then curled up by the closed door and began waiting.

It was already sunset, when Squalo looked out of a window and saw that Dino was still there. He thought that the blond boy was the most stubborn person he had ever met. He went to open the door.

"Voooi, you're still here."

He received no answer.

"Come on, get up, I'm letting you in.

Dino got up slowly, but he didn't make a single step towards Squalo. The latter just took him from a sleeve and dragged him inside the house. Once the door was closed, Squalo began to speak. It wasn't quite his cup, but for once he needed to talk and confess something.

"I have to answer you... No, I can't forget anything either. Those words were cruel, and I realize how much they hurt now. I know you won't but... Please, forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt you.

As if his voice came from a cave, Dino spoke.

"I forgive you. But I need to understand you now. Why... Did you kiss me?"

"I don't know. It was like an invisible force guiding me."

"Would you do that again?"

Dino wanted an answer. Squalo didn't know what to say, he had already spoken too much. He decided to let his instinct guide his actions. He erased the distance between himself and Dino and put his lips on the blond boy's ones, giving him another kiss that lasted few seconds. Dino opened his eyes widely, then blushed. He gazed at Squalo, who had bowed his head so that the blond boy couldn't see his face. Dino opened his mouth, then closed it. After a pause he asked:

"Do you want me to forget this too?"

Squalo shook his head expressing a silent 'no'.

"Squalo!"

Dino took the other boy by the shoulders.


End file.
